30 of 49 Palestinians killed in August were civilians

Between August 1 and last night, 49 Palestinians were killed by Israel Defense Forces fire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; around 180 were injured, with at least 65 of them sustaining wounds from live fire (including shrapnel from shells and missiles). Thirty of those killed were unarmed civilians. Another two Palestinians, both in their 70s, died of injuries sustained in July.

Among those killed during the month were seven children aged 15 and younger (including two girls under the age of 10), and two women from the Gaza Strip – one aged 50, the other 86.

Ten of the Palestinians killed were wanted men, with eyewitnesses reporting that two of them were killed after surrendering to IDF troops. One of the wanted men was killed when the house in which he was hiding was demolished, and another seven were killed in the framework of Israeli assassination operations. Nine civilians who were in the vicinity of such operations were also killed.

In gunfire exchanges with IDF troops, two armed Palestinians were killed. Seven Palestinians were killed by the IDF on their way to carrying out a terror strike in the Gaza Strip.

The figures above are based on reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and date compiled by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Most of the civilians were killed in their homes or fields during the course of IDF operations in the various Palestinian cities and towns, sometimes shortly after nearby gunfire exchanges. Five of the seven children killed were residents of the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Isma Ahmed, 9, was killed on August 1 in the home of her aunt in Karara, Gaza. That day, IDF troops were carrying out operations in the area of Karara (north of Khan Yunis and opposite the Netzer Hazani settlement). A 55-year-old man was injured by gunfire in the afternoon, and in the evening, the shooting from a position close to the settlement was renewed. Isma Ahmed and her mother were visiting relatives and began fleeing on hearing the shooting. Isma was hit in the back.

Iman Marasiv, 12, was injured during an IDF assault in the area of Dir al-Balah on August 7. He died of his injuries on August 10.

Mohammed Sa’adeh, 19, noticed members of an IDF undercover unit getting out of a Palestinian truck on August 7, in Tul Karm. He shouted out warnings to passers-by and was shot in the shoulder. The soldiers then shot at Ziyad Da’as, a wanted man, who sustained head injuries. Palestinian eyewitnesses said the soldiers had prevented ambulances from approaching the scene and that Sa’adeh had bled to death.

On August 15, gunfire directed at the western neighborhood of Khan Yunis from IDF positions in the Katif Bloc of settlements killed Aiman Fares, 6, who was playing alongside his home. His grandfather and a number of neighbors who rushed to his assistance were injured in the incident.

Aiman Zuarub, 15, was on his family’s plot southwest of Khan Yunis on the morning of August 20. An hour earlier, at a position further north, an IDF soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper. IDF forces opened fire in the entire area. Zuarub and others who were in the agricultural area began fleeing. Zuarub hid behind a tree, but was shot and killed.

On August 29, an IDF force was demolishing structures east of Rafah, close to the border with Egypt. Abed Ali Hadi al-Hameida, 14, was watching from a short way off as the IDF demolished a number of stores. He was killed by gunfire from the IDF force.

On August 2, Fatma Abu Zaher, 85, was sleeping in her courtyard in Wadi a-Salka, a village south of Dir al-Balah. Suddenly, gunfire was directed at the courtyard, seriously injuring the woman. Her son managed to drag her indoors, when a voice in Hebrew called out to him: “Where’s the terrorist you have hidden?” After it emerged who had been wounded, a military ambulance was rushed to the scene, but Abu Zaher died of her injuries.

On August 28, Mohammed Barakeh, a 24-year-old resident of Dir al-Balah, was throwing stones at soldiers at a checkpoint in the Katif Bloc. He was shot and killed. That same day, Mohammed Amuri, 33, was killed in his home in the Jenin refugee camp. He was in the shower at the time.